10/05/2015
“It’s your wife,” his administrative assistant said, handing Bryan the phone. “She says it’s urgent.”
“Are you going to miss Andrew’s play again?” Her tone was accusing, but also resigned.
“I can’t help it, honey.” Bryan spoke in low tones. He moved to the corner of his office to get some privacy. It was a futile quest and he knew it. His office was crowded. The lawyers were at the round table. The investment bankers were camped out on the sofa and the accountants and bankers were huddled around his desk poring over stacks of printouts. He had a huge office and it was packed almost as tightly as a Manhattan subway at rush hour.
“United Manufacturing has just put in a hostile bid and they’re two dollars above us,” he continued. “I have to . . .” He stopped as he realized he was about to reveal secret information he was duty bound to keep confidential.
“I’ll call you later,” he whispered. “Please apologize to Andrew.”
“Do it yourself,” she snapped and slammed down the phone.
Andrew would graduate from high school at the end of the semester. He loved dramatics and this would be his last school play. He had a leading role this year. Sadly Bryan realized he had missed every play. The higher he rose in the company, the less control he seemed to have over his time. Not for the first time, he felt as shackled as any convict being taken to a maximum-security prison.
He shook his head and came back to the present. He had to prepare a response. Counteroffer or negotiation? He started evaluating the pros and cons of each.
Like Bryan in the tale above, we want to be free and we want to be happy. This is such a given that we don’t even question whether we know what these terms mean. We also casually assume that we all have the same understanding. But as his story shows, it’s not so simple.
A short excerpt from Prof. Rao's international best seller on creativity - "Are you ready to succeed?"
If these questions bother you and others in your team - as they do to many of us, you and your team will find Prof. Rao workshop life changing. He is in Dubai from 25 May to 02 June. http://buff.ly/1JTksv2